Spitfire week drabbles
by chaneldancegrl
Summary: Prompted by a blog on tumblr with different Spitfire prompts for a week. Day 4: Hands. Artemis loves to look at Wally's hands.
1. Chapter 1

Title: City of Spitfire  
Rating: T  
Word Count:  
Summary: When Wally West stumbles upon a group of teenagers killing a man,he gets yanked into the world of Shadowhunters. What happens when of the Shadowhunters, Artemis, gets hurt during a fight? Can Wally put aside his firm beliefs in science and the ridiculousness of magic to save her? For Spitfire week

**A/N:** I have found a new love for The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare, and couldn't wait to put Spitfire in them. I have only just finished _City of Ashes_ and started reading _City of Glass_ after finishing the Infernal Devices Series. So sorry if something's incorrect because it wasn't explained until later books and please don't ruin the rest of the series for me. Anyways, enjoy! :D

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in here. **

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"Okay, what- how- but you just—you can't- did you seriously just kill that guy?" spluttered Wally as he stared at the fresh black blood on the wood paneled floor in his school's deserted gym, the only remaining proof of the group of teens' crime.

_When Wally had seen a teen girl around his age with flowing blonde hair in a pony tail that flew behind her when she ran past him, enter the locked down school at night with a huge hulking guy right__ on her heels, he immediately followed them to try to save her. It was just part of his character, to be the good guy and help out others. By now, his parents were used to seeing him a little scraped up after one of his adventures, whether it was saving a cat stuck in a tree or a boy getting bullied. While this situation looked a little more serious, he was still confident in his "every day hero" abilities. And after he saved the day, he and the damsel in distress would go out for Chinese food while she fawned over his bravery, intelligence, speed, and strength. _

_Imagine his surprise as he ran after them into his own high school's gym and the girl whipped out a crossbow and fired at the goonie. Wally tripped over his own feet, his tennis shoes squeaking against the floor as he watched the man growl, mutter gibberish angrily, and pulled the glowing arrow out of his shoulder . The noise from Wally's shoes made the girl glance in his direction with confusion and anger evident in her body language. That split second loss of concentration gave the man an opportunity to lunge at the girl and knock her to the ground, sending her cross bow skittering across the gym and out of reach. _

_Wally started to run into the scramble and help her, not that he didn't notice the guy getting scraped up by the small knife the girl was wielding in her hands. But the sight of a glowing blade ramming in the other guy's ribs stopped him from getting too close. Three shadowy figures moved in from the bleachers and far dark walls as their victim rolled off the girl, cursing violently. _

_For a quick second, the man seemed to shimmer and Wally caught himself staring at a disturbing sight: bright green flames roaring in the man's eyes sockets instead of eyes, a large blubbery mass with six appendages sticking out, and a sneering mouth with multiple fangs extending over his lips. What attracted Wally's gaze the most was the man creature's flickering scorpion tail. Then, just as suddenly as the illusion appeared, it was gone and the man was holding a gun and aiming at the dark figures. _

"_Dirty Nephilim! Should've known. Come out of hiding, you brats! I'll take you all down! I ain't afraid of you!" He aimed at one of the moving shadows and fired. The man was quickly rushed on all sides, and although he put up a decent fight, found himself lying on the floor with his arms bound to his side and ankles bound together by silver ropes. When the scuffle had ended, Wally realized that all of the people standing over the mysterious man were teenagers, appearing to be around his age. He silently approached their group, and the other teens, who were all dressed in strange black clothes save for the blonde girl from earlier who was dressed in normal street clothes, didn't notice his presence. _

"_Where's Valentine?" angrily asked a boy with golden hair that seemed to glow even in the darkness._

_The man laughed, an ugly guttural sound that chilled Wally's bones. "How should I know? Didn't you _brilliant_ Shadowhunters take care of him yet?"_

_The blonde boy muttered "Forcas" and pointed another glowing blade near the man's neck, his tone threatening, "Don't lie. We know he's still calling demons to him to build his army. You're either in it, or you must have information. Either way, you know something. Spill."_

"_And if I refuse? He's a very powerful man, not one who I plan to cross. And after all, you'll just end up killing me anyway"_

"_Then you'll see some family resemblance," the boy growled and stepped forward, but a girl with fiery red hair put his arm out to stop him._

"_Jace," she said, her voice worried and warning at the same time. "Breathe."_

_Another boy, with raven black hair, stood across from the couple and shot them a worried look. "Remember what you're saying, Jace. _You are not him_."_

_Wally found himself gazing in the blonde girl's direction, who was watching her companions warily. Out of the corner of his eye, he again saw the man's stinger, but now it twitched in the girl's direction. The man grinned devilishly. Before Wally knew what was happening, he had thrown himself in the blonde girl's direction, sending them both sprawling away from the goon as his stinger cracked the place she had been standing only milliseconds before. _

_Wally stared at the girl beneath him, noticing faint white scars running across her skin that interlacing with strange black tattoos on her arms and neck. He took in her brilliant blonde hair, not golden like the other boy, but more as if the sun had rained down on her head and painted her hair in its likeness; even with some dirt coating her locks, it looked unbearably soft and silky and he resisted the urge to run his fingers through it. Her plump lips were slightly open with surprise, allowing the boy to catch a glimpse of pearly white teeth and left him wondering what it would take to see her smile. Lastly, his emerald green eyes met her steely grey ones; they reflected surprise and determination in their stormy depths and some other hidden emotion Wally was determined to discover. The girl licked her lips suddenly, eyes breaking contact with his as she tried to orient herself to the latest predictament. _

"_Don't worry, babe. The Wall-man's gotch ya," comforted Wally and he noticed a faint blush warm the girl's face as her eyes snapped back to his; then her eyes became flints and her mouth twisted into a sneer as she fully realized their position._

"_Get. Off. Of. Me!" she growled and pushed him off her to stand up and help her friends. When Wally rolled to his feet, he turned to see the other teens surrounding the now bloodier man. _

_The world seemed to slow down as Wally saw Jace raise his strange glowing blade to stab the goon in the heart. Wally ran with incredible speed to try to tackle the boy, but was yanked back just short of his goal by the blonde girl and dark haired boy. "Let me go! Stop! You can't just kill him!" cried Wally, but it didn't matter as he watched the blade hit its mark and the man choke on his own blood that sputtered to his lips before disappearing in thin air. _

"Okay, what- how- but you just—you can't. Did you seriously just kill that guy?" cried Wally, waving his hands around and breaking free of the other teen's constraints.

"Nice going, Artemis. You just had to attract a mundane, didn't you?" snapped the dark haired boy as Jace wiped off his sword on his pants.

"Hey, I didn't know he was following me. It's not my fault he saw through the glamour, Alec!" snapped Artemis.

"She's got a point. That's how I found you and Jace," reminded the girl with fiery hair. "He's probably one of us."

Wally spun to face the teens that were staring at him with various appraising expressions. He pointed an angry finger at each of them in turn as if it was a small pocket knife, even though he knew it was significantly less dangerous than their weapons, and said in his angriest voice, "I am _nothing_ like you. You _kill_ people. Yeah, he was a bad guy, but that's what jails are for. You can't just go around killing everybody. I'm going to report you to the police. You know, because I'm actually a good human being."

Jace broke out into laughter and Artemis smirked slightly.

"The Wall-man, huh? Going to rat us out to the people who won't even be able to _see_ any evidence?"

"Oh, knock it off, you guys! He doesn't understand, yet," said the other girl as she punched Jace in the shoulder.

"Sorry, Clary" Jace snorted, not sounding sorry at all. " But he's worse than you were."

Artemis sighed tiredly. "Ignore Jace, he's moody today. Listen, that thing wasn't human. It was a demon."

Now it was Wally's turn to fight a laugh. "A-a demon? Wowwwww," he drawled. "You people _are_ crazy. What, are there witches and vampires that go bump in the night? And let me guess your little swords glow because they're covered in pixie dust?"

Now Alec rolled his eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, mundane. There are warlocks, not witches and the fair folk don't want anything to do with us, and pixie dust is just a myth mundanes came up with somehow. Our blades glow with the power of the angels, not whatever other stupid reasons your mind comes up with."

"I'm not stupid," Wally shot back, going red in the face. "I happen to be the smartest kid in my advanced biology class."

"Geek," Artemis coughed, earning a glare from him.

"And magic. Does. Not. Exist!" he argued hotly.

Jace groaned. "It's not magic! _We_ don't use magic. Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Do you really believe that?" Clary asked, ignoring Jace. "That none of this exists? That we're crazy or lying? Think about what you saw tonight. Not what you think you saw or what you fooled yourself into thinking. What you _actually_ saw."

Wally sighed. "I think it's late, and you're all ridiculous. How about you and your little magic tricks leave me alone and I won't tell my uncle, who works with the cops, about you guys?" He started to walk away from their group, shaking his head at the bizarreness of it all.

The shadowhunters shared small smiles. "Again, it's _not_ magic. Do you really think anyone would believe you? No one else saw Artemis and the demon running down the street and no one else would've seen the fight if they were here, but you did. They'll just think you're crazy."

Wally stopped at Jace's smug reply. "You don't know my Uncle Barry." He thought of his uncle who was always so proud of Wally's achievements and for his little heroic adventures. Barry was always there for Wally, almost like another father to him. Even though Wally could be a prankster and over exaggerate his stories, surely he could prove to his uncle that he wasn't lying.

This made the other teens pause. Alec was the first to speak, "You don't mean Barry Allen, do you?" Because honestly, there weren't that many Barrys in the city and even fewer in the Shadowhunting business. If Barry Allen was his uncle, that would explain the boy's fast reflexes and ability to see beyond the glamour.

Wally glared at them suspiciously. "How do you know my uncle?"

Artemis stepped closer to him, hesitantly as if he were an animal that might pounce and attack or skitter rapidly away. "He- well, we can talk to him now if you want. He's at the Institute."

Wally raised an eye brow. "My uncle's not a professor." _These people are _really_ insane. They can't know anything about me or my family… but how do they know Uncle Barry? Have they run into trouble with the law before?_ Theories kept running through the amateur scientist's mind but none seemed entirely plausible.

"I know," she sighed, blowing some wayward hairs out of her face. "Just come with us, he should be able to explain everything."

"I hope so," muttered Jace. "Are there any other hidden shadowhunters walking around New York that we should know about? We should make a pamphlet to give out." He, Clary, and Alec walked towards the exit. Alec was shaking his head tiredly and Clary was fighting a smile.

Artemis began following them before turning around to look at a confused and hesitant Wally. He was torn between running home to take a shower and wash away all of the craziness of the past twenty minutes or to take a chance and follow the Shadowhunters into their illogical world of vampires, and warlocks, and demons. He felt prickles of fear on the back of his neck as he remembered them killing a man or demon or whatever it was. But he was a scientist, and it was duty as a scientist to create a hypothesis, experiment, analyze, and conclude. His hypothesis: they were all nut jobs, but there was an air of truth lingering in their conversations and he was curious about their connection to Barry. Now, it was time for him to take the step and see all the data for himself.

"Are you coming or what?" Artemis barked.

Wally met her eyes again, a twinkle of amusement in hers and he returned her question with a confident smile.

"I'm ready."

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"Artemis!" cried Wally from across the run down park as he saw her get sprayed by a Spider Demon that had snuck up behind her.

She dodged, missing the brunt of the attack but still getting poison spattered on her left arm. She her cried out, falling to the ground and tried to scramble away from the demon. Luckily, Isabelle wasn't too far away and her whip flew towards the Spider demon before choking it and sending it crashing into an Oni demon she was fighting. But Isabelle still couldn't get to Artemis who was desperately tearing off the sleeve to get rid of some of the poison covering her.

Wally quickly stabbed the demon he had been locked in a struggle with and made his way through the chaos caused by the small Shadowhunter group plus Simon and the demons. They had been exploring a tip, given to them by an outcast fairy of an old friend of Jocelyn's when they had been ambushed.

A couple weeks ago, Wally would never had imagined his life turning into some teen fantasy novel with heroes, demons, shadow hunters, vampires, werewolves, warlocks, faries, and legends existing becoming a part of his life. When he had met Artemis, Jace, Clary, and Alec in the gym, they hadn't disappointed him by lying.

In fact, he had been quite shocked to learn that his Uncle Barry was a Shadowhunter himself and quite a good one at that. His police work didn't necessarily involve using crime scene data to arrest and hunt down common criminals but to find and arrest down Downworlders or who broke the rules set by the Accords, or more recently to help find Valentine. In fact, his whole family had been a part of the business but his parents had stepped away from the life to keep Wally safe. They had encouraged his interest in science, hoping his steadfast belief in it would glamour the fantastical world; and it had worked for the most part, save for rare instances where he saw the other world out of the corner of his eyes. He had always brushed it off as his mind playing tricks or an over active imagination as his parents had reassured him, but now he knew better. While hesitant to believe that everything he knew was a lie and angry that he was kept in the dark for so long, he finally took Barry's offer to train to become a Shadowhunter.

Despite his long time refusal to believe in magic and fantasy, Wally still couldn't resist the temptation to do good in the world, to save people and other creatures from evil, to fight side by side by his family and friends, and the thrill of taking down a baddie. He couldn't escape it, didn't want to escape it. He'd wanted to be a hero his whole life and now he had a chance to improve his abilities and more beneficial opportunities. That's how he ended up in the park with his friends, using some of the limited training his uncle had given him and using techniques he'd seen in movies to take down demons and get to this fallen teammate, the most infuriatingly stubborn and sarcastic yet the most intelligent, witty, tough, and beautiful girl he ever met.

When he finally reached her, he grabbed her arm, quickly inspecting it. There was poison and burnt skin all over her upper arm and shoulder. "Jeese Artemis, I warned you."

"Yeah, right as he was attacking, thanks for that!" she coughed, and Wally noticed her skin becoming paler.

"No, no, no, no, no. Stay with me, Artemis. We're going to get you to the Institute so Magnus can heal you." Wally started to pick her up, but she struggled against him.

"No. The others need our help. We have to take out the rest of these demons," she argued angrily. "Put me down, West. I still have one good arm, a couple of seraph blades and my crossbow. I'm not leaving this fight until it's over."

Wally groaned. "That poison is going to go through your veins faster because your blood's pumping faster, and you won't be much use with that much pain slowing you down."

They glared at each other, attempting to persuade the other to back down and agree with them, but neither one was willing to cave in. Their staring contest was over when Artemis used her crossbow and shot a demon in the throat that had come up behind Wally. She raised an eyebrow, daring him to challenger her usefulness again.

"Fine," Wally growled. "But you sit and shoot while I'm on the move." Artemis nodded her agreement and they worked as a team to take out the surrounding demons; Artemis called out warnings to Wally and shot the ones that he couldn't get to fast enough while he protected her from ones that came too close. Eventually, the last demon in their vicinity had finally been taken down due to several arrows and stab wounds from the duo. Artemis lay weakly against the tree and Wally ran to her side, rechecking her arm.

"We make a good team," she whispered tiredly, eyes half lidded as she struggled to stay awake. Artemis frowned suddenly."You have blood on your face." She reached out her hand and let her fingers graze across his temple where he had hit his head after a particularly nasty blow sent him to the ground; blood came away on her finger tips.

Wally rubbed at it a bit with his sleeve, wincing as the cut stung. Her frowned deepened, but he waved off any protest. "Don't worry about it, beautiful. Let's get you home." With that, he put his arms under her and lifted her bridal style. Artemis let her head rest against his chest, smiling slightly and Wally tried to ignore his jumping heart and focus on getting her to help. _It's just adrenaline from the fight_, he reasoned stubbornly. Jace, Clary, Isabelle, Alec and Simon came over, having finished off their demons as well.

"How's she holding up?" Isabelle asked, quickly winding up her whip.

"Not to good," replied Wally before turning to Alec. "Call Magnus and tell him to meet us at the Institute right away."

"Look at who's throwing orders around now," remarked Jace as Alec made the phone call. "A couple weeks ago you didn't even know all this existed." Clary whacked him in the arm.

Isabelle snorted. "How much is our bill now? I'm pretty sure Magnus just keeps us on a tab."

"I'm a fast learner. It doesn't matter how much he costs if we need him. Now let's go before Artemis dies," barked Wally as he hugged her protectively to her chest and quickly made his way to Simon's van, the others right next to him. Wally suddenly felt a hard slap against his chest and looked down to see Artemis's glower.

"What?" he asked confused.

"You're such a drama queen Wally. I'm not going to die," she said resolutely, knowing that in a couple of days she'd be up and about, taking on more demons, teaching him some new techniques, and bantering with him until he felt he'd go crazy.

"You're right, because I'm not going to let you," he replied, and gently laid her down in the van before sitting next to her, holding her hand. "If you do, I'll never forgive you."

"Because _that's_ motivation," Artemis remarked with another small smile. By now, the others had climbed into their seats and were speeding towards the Institute where Magnus was waiting. Now, the boy who hadn't believed in magic his whole life, was hoping that he and his shadowhunting friends could get to the warlock in time before the girl he had feelings for died after just fighting demons in the park with him. He had first joined the Shadowhunting group on a whim, to get data to see if they and their world actually existed. It was data he had never dreamed of finding, and when he analyzed it he realized it was all true. Then, this experiment led him to the conclusion that he wanted to be part of it, that he _was_ a part of it, and he was okay with that conclusion.

He looked down at the blonde archer, who was fighting the effects of the poison. Just like the night they had first seen each other, their eyes met. Her silver eyes glinted with determination and softness as she stared into his. She would live, they both knew it, everyone knew it. Magnus would help. Everything would turn out fine, for now. Then, they would go on more missions and adventures and the whole cycle would start all over again.

She gave his hand a reassuring a squeeze, which he returned, holding her gaze.

_Yeah, I could get used to being a Shadowhunter. _

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	2. Chapter 2

Spitfire Week Day 3: Grass

Title: Grass Stains

Summary: Wally takes Artemis on a picnic date.

A/N: Here's day 3 of Spitfireweek. Prompt: Grass. Also, I did not do Day 2 because I couldn't think of it. Sorry, but I won't write something I'm not inspired about, maybe I will later but not now. As for this drabble, I don't really know what this is, but I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters

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Wally West was nervous. It could be considered comical even. Here he was, talking to his girlfriend of six months, rambling on about the science behind weather and the affect of the sun on the ozone layer while rocking back on his heels.

Artemis raised her eyebrow at him and eventually his mouth slowed to a stop.

"Do you happen to have a point to make, Wall-man?" she asked, smirking. "Just spit out."

Wally took a deep breath, and for a moment Artemis was scared he would start rambling again, but found her worry wasn't needed. "It's really nice outside."

Again, Artemis shot him a look equivalent to _Are you insane?_ "You do know there's a thunderstorm outside, right?"

Now he relaxed slightly, used to the banter. "No duh. It's not raining everywhere though."

Artemis leaned back in the kitchen chair to get a better look at her boyfriend and try to figure out what was running through his head. "I'll give you that. Why does it matter?"

"Wellll…" Wally drawled. "I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date, like on a picnic. I got sandwiches, hot dogs, salad, soda, chips, cookies. Lots of cookies so you don't get mad when I eat all your Chips Ahoy again. That wasn't fun. Not that you're not cute when you're mad, but it's cuter when it's not directed at me because you kick really really hard. I mean, of course I can take you, but you have that sneaky passive aggressive technique and-"

Artemis rolled her eyes as her boyfriend started rambling but gave him a shy smile. It would be their first official date. Of course they had hung out together before, but it was never for very long or completely alone. It wasn't that they didn't want to go on a date like normal teenagers, they just didn't have the time. Factor in the fact that they lived so far away from each other and usually only saw each other at the cave, it was nearly impossible to work out a dating schedule. After a while, watching movies with the team and sparring can get a bit old, especially since Black Canary decided to split up the couple during practices for a multitude of reasons.

So now, to have Wally be his cheesy nervous self and ask her on a picnic date was just what she needed. She walked around the kitchen island and leisurely wrapped her arms around his neck to get him to stop talking. "Sounds like fun."

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After about fifteen minutes of Wally running, the couple had reached their destination. They were approximately seventy miles away from civilization and even farther away from their friends and family. Artemis took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air of the meadow that was so different from smoggy congested air of Gotham. She slowly spun around taking in the vibrant green of the grass spattered with occasional small white flowers. They were in a small circular clearing that was ringed by a multitude of wild flowers being caressed by the wind. When she finally came full circle she saw Wally, the fastest kid alive, had already set up the whole picnic, red blanket, food, drinks, flowers and all.

"What's the rush? You have a hot date after this?" asked Artemis, taking in the sight of Wally lounging on the blanket a grin on his face.

"Hopefully. _If_ she says yes. There's the really beautiful and tough archer on my team. I've asked her about before, and she said yes. I think I have a pretty good shot at a second one." He patted the open spot next to him.

Artemis couldn't help the blush that rose to her face and returned his smile as she waltzed over to join him. "I don't know if I'd get your hopes up that fast."

"Nah, she can't say no to me. All the ladies love me."

She shoved Wally so he was laying flat on his back. While he was down, Artemis made a quick grab for a peanut butter and banana sandwich before he ate them all.

The speedster gave her an amused glance before he started wolfing down food himself.

She couldn't help but watch her boyfriend eat; even after seeing him eat countless times before she never failed to be intrigued by how and how much he ate. It always seemed like he feared that it was always his last meal. She knew it was necessary for him to eat so much, but she loved how excited he could get about food. Artemis also realized that he had eaten beforehand because he was full after 8 sandwiches, two giant bags of chips, and a potato salad. _He didn't want to spend most of their date eating and possibly grossing me out_. She smiled at the thought of him preparing it for her and knowing that she'd say yes to the outing.

They spent the rest of the afternoon, just talking and enjoying each other's company. Eventually, they found themselves lying on the blanket and watching the soft fluffy clouds roll across the sky. Wally's short attention span kicked in after watching the clouds for about fifteen minutes and his fingers inched their way towards Artemis, seeking the small patch of skin peeking between her tank top and jeans.

Artemis twitched at his touch and caught his hand. "What are you doing?"

He wiggled his fingers in her face. "What, are you ticklish?"

Artemis made a face. "No."

Wally smiled. "Are you sure?"

Artemis was about to snap out a retort when she felt Wally's fast fingers flit around her upper body and stomach. She grit her teeth, resisting the urge to squirm or let out a giggle. She almost succeeded until Wally found a weak spot in her arm pit and top of her stomach; a small shriek and laughter burst past her lips and Wally grinned in satisfaction.

"Success!" he shouted and raised his arms above his head.

Artemis snarled and launched herself at him, pushing him off the blanket and into the grass. "Payback time."

Wally's expression turned into one of horror. "You wouldn't." He was answered by being attacked by Artemis's fingers. He writhed and twisted beneath her but her knees clamped around his hips kept in place. "Stop-Artemis-I can't-" He laughed.

She shook her head; she was too focused on her mission. "You're going down, Kid Dork."

Soon Artemis found herself on her back, wrists above her head and locked together by one of Wally's hands. "No fair. You can't use your powers to cheat."

Wally smiled at her, breathing heavily. "I can't help that I'm awesome." Artemis saw his fingers move towards her and smirked at him.

Wally's fingers stopped moving when he saw her face. "What are you-" He was stopped by Artemis's lips crashing into his. He quickly let go of her hands, preferring to have them run down her sides and to her hips.

She sighed into his mouth at the feel of his hands and he shivered in response. Artemis smirked and put her hands at the back of his neck, playing with the soft hairs there. Wally pressed her down harder into the grass, wanting to be closer to her, to feel nothing but her against him. The archer gasped and Wally's tongue darted into her mouth.

She met his with her own, playing with it and teasing him. She enjoyed the feeling of his arms around her and just being with him. She felt safe and wanted. Soon, she gained the upper hand and flipped them, her hair coming free and flowing around the couple like a golden curtain.

Wally's hazy eyes filled with happiness, adoration, and lust looked up at her, seeing the same emotions reflected back. She smiled down at him and their lips came together again.

They lay like that for a while, exploring each other's bodies and giving into some of their teenage hormones. They didn't go too far though, because neither of them were ready for that. As the sky darkened, they pulled away from each other. Artemis rolled off and snuggled into his side, both of them trying to catch their breath.

Finally, Artemis spoke. "Thanks for tonight, Wally."

"Anytime, babe. You up for another one sometime?"

"I'll think about it."

Wally laughed and hugged her closer to him.

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"Wallace Rudolph West!" cried Wally's mom from the laundry room.

The teen boy sighed, pausing his video game and racing towards her because when your mothers calls by your full name you don't keep her waiting.

He came to see her standing by a basket of his dirty clothes, a couple of them lying on the counter. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Mary West usually cleaned his clothes mostly due to her son's laziness and jam packed schedule; otherwise nothing he wore would be clean.

"Yeah mom?" he asked warily.

"Mind explaining why these clothes are dirty?" she held up a dirty pair of blue jeans and a yellow tshirt, both covered in matching grass and dirt stains.

"Nope, can't say I have. They might've been from an impromptu fight."

His mom snorted, a knowing gleam in her eye. "Are you sure? They don't look ripped or burned or covered in ash."

Wally pursed his lips, thinking about the week's past events. _He had gone to the arcade with Rob in Gotham, played at the beach with the team, gone on patrol with Uncle Barry, went on a picnic with Artemis where they were in the grass…_ The realization came crashing down on the teenage boy and he understood what his mom was implying, what she _knew_. He felt his face flare with warmth and he coughed.

"It was a small, easy fight," he said quietly.

"Mhmm. Wally, I'm not stupid. I know you and Artemis are dating and that you're teenagers and that all your hormones and urges come up…"

"Mom!" shouted Wally, facing growing redder. "Please stop."

"But you're both so young. I hope you're being careful." She continued putting Wally's dirty clothes in the washing machine.

"We are mom. Can you just ugh," he put his head in his hands.

"I'm sure you are. I'm just saying. Your father and I were young once. We went through the same thing."

"MOM!" Wally screeched, gagging at the mental image of his parents kissing the way he and Artemis did. "I'm begging you. Please stop. I'll do my laundry on my own from now on."

"Oh, sweetie. It's fine, I don't mind." She smiled and poured laundry detergent into the machine. "And don't worry. I won't talk to you about it anymore, unless you want to."

Wally gave a sigh of relief. "Thanks."

Mary just nodded. "Don't worry though, I called your Uncle Barry. He'll probably be more help since you're both speedsters. He'll be over in a couple minutes." With that, she left her son in the laundry room alone to bang his bright red head against the wall.

_Next time I'm taking Artemis to a completely clean, steal, sterilized room where there is no dirt or grass or anything else that can stain._

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	3. Chapter 3

A Simple Touch

Spitfire Week Round 2 Day 4: Hands

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice**

A/N: This takes place before Salvage. This is probably the feeliest thing I've ever written. I've never really written this much about their feelings before, so I thought I'd try it out. Hopefully you enjoy it. :D

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She didn't know what caused it, why it was suddenly so important to her. Maybe she was just bored after finishing her homework. Maybe she was just tired thanks to her full day of classes. Or maybe it's just because she loves him and he's sleeping on the couch, head on her lap and chemistry notebook lying across his chest. And his hand is holding the notebook in place and lying in her line of vision.

It's not as if she's never seen or held his hand before, but for some reason she has a sudden urge to just hold it, study it, and cherish it.

Even though they had left the hero business, a small part of her was always restless when they were separated. Whether they wanted to admit it or not, there were strong possibilities that their old life could come crashing back to them. Wally still kept in contact with Dick and his family of course, the family that was filled with fellow speedster heroes and a family that grown accustomed to everything that entailed. She also knew that Wally had gotten a new uniform to fit his taller frame. "In case of emergency," he responded when she commented on it.

But Artemis wasn't without her own connections to the past. Jade was always risk with her knack for stirring up trouble, though she had been surprisingly quiet the past year. Then there was the case of her father who knew her identity and had powerful allies that could easily and completely uproot Wally and Artemis's miniature paradise. While the duo no longer spent hours on end clad in spandex, the shadows of the past were always one short step behind them, waiting for one or both of them to fall back.

So Artemis took this peaceful moment to lovingly hold and study her boyfriend of five years' palm. It was slightly rough with small white scars interspersed on his hands from years of training, missions, and fighting villains. Although his speedster powers allowed him to heal faster, it couldn't erase all his wounds. On the inside of his right hand, right under his thumb, was a miniscule pinkish patch of smooth skin from a lab accident gone wrong before he became Kid Flash. She brushed her thumb across the area and saw Wally sleepily smile out of the corner of her eye. She paused for a moment, but he didn't wake up.

Her own lithe fingers drifted over his palm, brushing his skin. While his hands had a rough quality to them, they could also be considered soft and gentle as if reflecting his kind, loving, and sometimes childish nature. Artemis had a theory that even when Wally is old and retired from the hero business and his mundane occupation, he'd still have that mischievous and complete love of laughter side to him.

She knows he'd also hold fast to his firm belief of good in the world. He justified it as logical; that not everyone in the world could be bad and that the good guys (in spandex or civilian clothing) would win in the end, even if they lost a couple of battles here and there.

Artemis was also familiar with Wally's soft spot for his friends, from their old team or their classes. He was always there to tutor one of their classmates in science, cheer up someone after a rough day of training, give Nightwing advice on dating girls (not that he always listened) or help one of their college buddies get through a particularly nasty hangover. There was just a general goodness about her boyfriend that she loved.

Love. The part of Wally which he had given a substantial part to Artemis. According to him, he was completely, totally, head over heels, fairy tale ending, happily ever after in love with her. When he had told her that, she smacked him on the arm for being so cheesy. But he had just laughed and kissed her, and she had kissed him back because she felt the same way though she didn't declare it as clichely as he did.

Artemis adored the way he'd massage her shoulders when she spent hours working on homework or cheered her on loudly during her archery matches. She cherished those moments at night when they were teangled in the sheets together and he held her close. She could hear his heart beat and feel his warm, strong, soft body (just like his hands) around her as he would murmur sweet nothings in her ear and kiss her forehead. She loved everything about him and he didn't disappoint.

He didn't just give her love and affection. They wouldn't be them without their teasing and playful banter. Wally always said he loved to see her spitfire side show and she never held back; she loved keeping him on his toes, particularly when it came to taking care of their dog, helping around the apartment, or just snarking about something to make him laugh.

Slowly, Artemis lined up his and her hands, plams and fingers splayed out and connecting seamlessly. His hands were only slightly larger than hers, but she felt they still fit together perfectly.

_How strange_, she thought, _that the two of us with completely different pasts and backgrounds would come together_. Her, with her whole family with inkling for crime and the shadows and him with his happy, complete and welcoming family. Even though her mom had backed away from her criminal lifestyle and her sister seemed to have different motivations, it still didn't change her upbringing with her father's strict and harsh training methods, an imprisoned mother, and absent sister. Artemis had quickly become tough, snarky, insecure, and secretive. Still, she was determined and fought tooth and nail against her pedigree so she could be like one of those heroes she had always admired as a kid.

In that sense, she guessed, she and Wally had a common goal as kids and young teens: to help the world. But Wally had grown up in the suburbs, running around carefree through the parks, sat on top of his father's shoulders and lived a typical life till his speed experiment. His family had always been there for him and encouraged him to do his best and do what's right. But she didn't completely mind their differences; it made them who they were today and she wouldn't change a thing, despite what she would tease Wally about.

Artemis soon felt Wally's fingers bend around her own, capturing her hand in his and breaking her from her musings. She looked into her boyfriend's twinkling green eyes, which still held some traces of sleep from his nap, and returned the gesture.

"So what's with the palmreading, babe?" asked Wally with a smirk. "You gonna read my fortune and tell me how I will have a great journey and be forced to make difficult decisions? Or will I meet some tall dark stranger who can change my fate?"

Artemis rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's sarcastic tone. Even after dealing with Zatanna and Dr. Fate, Wally still couldn't resist mocking fortunes and superstitions. She took his other hand in her free one and pretended to quickly examine it before giving him her prediction. "I have conversed with the greater spirits and they have told me you will fail half if not all of your classes if you don't stop napping all the time or using me as a distraction."

A sly grin came to his face and wriggled his eyebrows. "Well, I'm not napping now…" He rose up and met her lips with his own.

She let him be distracted for a couple of minutes before she broke away from him. She smirked at his pout. "Not now. Finish your chem analysis and then come talk to me."

Wally gave a tortured sigh and released her from his embrace, their hands the last to separate, their touch lingering for a few moments before she walked away.


End file.
